


It's a Tonks Thing

by Halunygin



Series: Pride Anthology [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, Friendship, Genderfluid Character, Growing Up, Hogwarts, Humor, Order of the Phoenix - Freeform, Pre-Hogwarts, Romance, non-binary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2019-04-18 13:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14213997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halunygin/pseuds/Halunygin
Summary: A story covering Tonks' development into who he/she/they are.





	It's a Tonks Thing

"Turn it red. Now gold. Red and gold? Damn, Andy, she's a smart bugger."

"Language, Sirius," Andromeda scolded from her place at the stove. Her cousin had come over for dinner and was currently trying to corrupt her highly impressionable daughter.

The sixteen year old shrugged with a grin. "She's three, Andy, she knows what the words damn and bugger mean and how to use them in a proper fashion. Don't you, Nymphie?" he added, ruffling the child's long mane of hair, flashing the colors representative of Gryffindor. Nymphadora laughed and changed her hair to a dark green and silver.

"I do, Siri, I do!"

"When she gets herself arrested, I'm blaming you," Andromeda remarked dryly.

Sirius gasped and put a hand to his chest. "I'm offended by those implications. Oi, you," he added to Nymphadora. "Get those Slytherin colors out of here, who are you trying to impress, eh?"

"Mummy," the girl replied shortly, sticking her tongue out at her cousin.

Andromeda smirked and raised an eyebrow at her cousin.

Sirius flushed. "Oh, well, I guess that's okay. But don't think I'm not going to mold you into a model Gryffindor such as myself."

"Siri, you're a damn bugger."

"He most certainly is, dear," Andromeda nodded with a grin, and Sirius pouted.

* * *

"No! I don't wanna!" the seven year old screamed, running out of her room, and down the hall and stairs. She would have ran out the house if she hadn't barreled right into her father's knees.

"Whoa there, Nym," Ted placed his hands on her pajama clad shoulders to steady her. "What's wrong?"

Andromeda came down the stairs calmly, a purple frock in her hands.

"She won't wear the dress," she informed her husband.

"Well, she can wear a different dress to the birthday party," Ted offered, smoothing down his daughter's short hair, which was a fiery shade of red.

Nymphadora shook her head. "Don't wanna wear any dress. Dresses are dumb."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "You picked this one out to wear last week, Nymphadora. You said it was your favorite dress."

"Don't call me that. And so what?" her daughter shot back, and Ted intervened before a real argument could occur.

"What do you want to wear to the party?" he asked, kneeling down to Nymphadora's level. She tapped her chin.

"A button shirt," she said finally. "And jeans, like you, Daddy."

Ted tweaked her nose. "Ask and ye shall receive. Go up to our room and pick one of mine out. I'll shrink it down for you."

"Yay!" the girl cheered, jumping and then bolting back upstairs. Andromeda groaned.

"How are you so much better at this than me?"

Ted grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "She's a kid, Andy, and kids are fickle. You can't take what they say to be absolute."

Andromeda leaned her head on his shoulder. "You're right." She cleared her throat. "Come on, if we leave her in there too long, she'll open our honeymoon drawer, and I'm not ready for those questions."

* * *

 "Nymphadora Tonks?" Professor Flitwick squeaked from his podium, his head barely poking out from on top of it, despite the many books he was standing on top of.

A pigtailed head of mousy brown with dark blue streaks straightened from the back of the room. "Here. Professor, could I make a request?"

Flitwick looked distracted as he shuffled the papers in front of him. "Yes, of course, dear."

The girl coughed. "Could everyone just call me by my surname?"

The other students turned in their seats to stare at her blankly.

"It's just I really don't like my first name and even shortening it doesn't make it less atrocious, so um, yeah."

Flitwick nodded and went back to calling roll, and first year hunkered back down, the tips of her pigtails changing to a dusty pink that matched her cheeks.

"Charlie Weasley?"

"Here," the redhaired boy in the seat beside her said. He grinned and stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Charlie."

"I heard," she remarked dryly, returning the handshake with slight amusement. "Tonks, and I don't have to say my name again, do I?"

Charlie shook his head. "Nah, I get it. My last is Weasley. Weasley."

"At least your first name is legitimate," Tonks countered. "My mum made up my name, I'm sure of it."

"Maybe she just didn't think of girls' names," Charlie shrugged. "My mum had all boys and then my sister came along and got stuck with Ginevra."

"Better than Nymphadora," Tonks remarked, sticking a finger down her throat and miming a gag.

Charlie laughed. "I like you, you're not like other girls."

"I'm really not," Tonks insisted with a mysterious raise of her eyebrow. "All metamorphmagi are actually aliens from outer space."

The two first years laughed again, forming the beginning of a strong friendship.

* * *

"You got detention again?" Marcy groaned as a teen with spiky blonde hair sat down across from her. "Jacobs?"

"Who else?" Tonks shrugged, reaching forward to scoop mashed potatoes onto his plate. The new DADA professor had been hell bent on making sure Tonks spent as much free time as possible with him.

Marcy shook her head, brown curls flying to and fro. "What'd he get you for today?"

"My uniform," Tonks replied. "Because pants are masculine? Even though they fit a female body better anyway? Either way, I'm supposedly breaking dress code."

"Did you tell him you're a guy today and you'll wear whatever you damn well please?" Charlie asked, plopping down beside Marcy and grabbing a leg of chicken.

Tonks laughed, scratching the stubble he had added to his face. It had been a point of envy with his male friends. "I used fouler language than that, but yeah, basically. And what are you doing over here in Badger Town? The Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor match is tomorrow, shouldn't you be with your team, star seeker?"

Charlie waved a hand. "We'll be fine, it's you lot that have to worry. We lions are predators."

"You tripped in the halls on your way to Potions this morning and got rosebud juice in your hair. Hardly predatory, in my opinion," Marcy snorted, and Charlie stuck his tongue out at her.

"Real mature, Weasley."

Tonks rolled his eyes at his friends. "Anyway, Jacobs probably owled my parents and I'm gonna get the standard 'stop getting in trouble for dumb shit' lecture tomorrow. With a bit of 'you're a fourth year now, act like it' thrown in."

The desserts had appeared, and Charlie put a plate of chocolate cake in front of Tonks. "Hey, mate, don't stress about Jacobs, he's a bastard, and he'll be gone by next year, right?"

"Long live the curse," Marcy grinned, raising her glass of pumpkin juice, and Charlie joined her. Tonks put his chin in his hands as he smiled, so grateful for his friends.

* * *

"Wait, so what did he say?" Charlie asked the metamorphmagus sniffling beside him on the ground. "Exact wording."

Tonks coughed, running a hand through their now short and spiky lime green hair. "He said he couldn't keep dating someone who was clearly making things up to get attention."

Charlie straightened up against the tree they were leaning against. "Nope, not acceptable, I'm going to find that twiggy nerd and-"

He actually made to stand up, and Tonks pulled him back down.

"Don't, he's not worth it," the seventh year groaned. Their head was pounding, and they rubbed their temples.

"I can't believe someone would-"

"I can," Tonks interrupted in a bitter voice. "My own mother didn't understand when I tried to explain it to her. Why should I expect some guy I've been dating for a month to get it, or put up with it?"

"Because you're worth more than being put up with," Charlie insisted roughly. "You deserve to be heard and understood. You deserve someone who doesn't just get it, but likes it, embraces that you aren't constant. Someone who wants to be with you because you don't fit the mold."

Tonks didn't realize they had started crying again until they felt the tears roll down their chin, and cleared their throat.

"Are you offering? Because no offense, dude, but I don't think of you that way."

"Shut up," Charlie shoved them. "Here I am trying to cheer you up and for what? To be teased mercilessly?"

"Yes," Tonks replied shortly, and leaned over to wrap Charlie in a big hug. "You're my best friend, you know that? I don't need a boyfriend, not when I have you."

The red-haired boy grinned. "Yes, well, I am the whole package."

Tonks raised an eyebrow and popped a jellybean in their mouth. "Correction. I am the whole package."

* * *

The Order meeting was over, and Tonks stood up and sighed, running a hand through their spiky bubble gum pink hair that brushed their shoulders. They liked days like this, when they felt feminine. It was easier to deal with other people when your legal first name matched the gender you were.

Not that anyone in the Order dared to give them any crap about it. Mad Eye would glare at the offender menacingly with his fake eye, and Sirius would loudly remind everyone present that it was his house being used as Headquarters, Tonks was his cousin, and he did spend twelve years in Azkaban. So Tonks knew they had support.

The only problem was Remus Lupin. Remus was a werewolf, and Sirius's best friend. He was also the most attractive person Tonks had ever seen, and they found themselves head over heels for him. He was the only reason Tonks stayed for dinner after every Order meeting. That, and Molly's excellent cooking.

But the metamorphmagus hadn't dated anyone seriously since Hogwarts, and those hadn't gone very well. So naturally, Tonks was a bit hesitant to ask Remus out

Tonks found their chance when Molly asked them to help Remus prepare the vegetables. The werewolf was peeling potatoes and smiled when Tonks entered the kitchen. Then they ruined it by slipping on a small puddle of water. Remus caught them easily.

"Damn it," Tonks cursed. "Sorry."

Remus steadied them with a grin. "It's fine, you've tripped or knocked something over so many times, I've developed a sixth sense for it."

Tonks groaned into their hand. "That doesn't make me feel better, actually. Um, Molly said you needed help?"

"Er, nothing that I'd feel safe passing off to your accident prone self," Remus started with a smirk, and Tonks felt their cheeks redden as they pouted. "But you can keep me company."

Tonks raised an eyebrow, and couldn't suppress a grin when the werewolf blushed himself.

"Unless you don't want to."

"No, I'd love to!" Tonks insisted with much enthusiasm, flushing once more. They pulled themselves up onto the counter.

"You got any plans this weekend?"

There was no going back now, the metamorphmagus decided. All or nothing.

Remus shook his head. "I don't have any work to do for the Order, so I'll just be here to keep Sirius from burning this place down."

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing, you know," Tonks pointed out. "So no hot dates?"

"Hardly," Remus laughed. "Unless you were planning to hang around this weekend."

It was here that Tonks slipped off the counter in shock, crashing to the floor with a dull thud and a high yelp. They scrambled to their feet to gape a werewolf who was groaning and flushing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out, I-"

"You think I'm hot?" Tonks pressed, because for all their boyfriends, they had never been called hot. "Like attractive?"

Remus nodded, his eyes screwed shut, as if he could escape the embarrassing situation.

"Even though I'm not, you know..."

They trailed off, and the werewolf opened his eyes. Tonks' pink hair had dulled to their natural mousy shade and their bangs had lengthened to cover their eyes. Remus gently pushed them out of the way to reveal the metamorphmagus's deep blue eyes.

"You look breathtaking all the time, Tonks," he whispered. 

Tonks grinned and bit their lip. Remus's face was so close to theirs. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do." Remus then let go of their hair and cleared his throat. "Molly will bite our heads off if these carrots aren't washed."

"Right, I'll get out of your way then," Tonks said softly. "Um, Remus?"

"Yes, Tonks?"

"I don't have any plans this weekend either, so if you wanted to do something other than baby-sit Sirius, like watch a movie or something-"

"I'd love that," the werewolf smiled, and Tonks felt their heart melting as they left the kitchen, not even realizing they had knocked the knife holder off the counter.

**Author's Note:**

> I made Tonks be fem throughout her childhood because she didn't really see herself as different or come to the realization that she was fluid until she was older.


End file.
